The present invention relates to the field of motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a device for automatically controlling a tail light on a motor vehicle so as to avoid motor vehicle accidents.
Frequently, a motorist experiences a traffic situation of the following nature: The vehicle which the motorist is driving --call it "Vehicle 2"--is proceeding down a highway at a normal highway speed--say, 30-65 mph--while the vehicle of another motorist--call it "Vehicle 1"--is stopped or proceeding considerably slower on the same highway ahead of Vehicle 2. There may be any number of reasons why Vehicle 1 has stopped or proceeds slowly: The operator of Vehicle 1 may intend to turn left after oncoming cars have passed; there may be traffic congestion ahead of Vehicle 1; Vehicle 1 may be proceeding slowly because the road is upwardly inclined; Vehicle 1 may have stopped or may be proceeding slowly because the operator of Vehicle 1 is looking at something along the road; or Vehicle 1 may be disabled with an overheated engine, flat tire or the like. Sometimes the operator of Vehicle 1 will have applied the brakes, so that the brake lights of Vehicle 1 are illuminated, alerting the operator in Vehicle 2. Quite often, however, the operator of Vehicle 1 does not have a need to apply the brakes because Vehicle 1 has already stopped, is proceeding slowly at a steady speed, or is even accelerating. The operator of Vehicle 1 can switch on flashing "hazard" lights, but this requires positive action on the operator's part which is frequently forgotten. In the absence of any warning lights (brake lights or hazard lights) on Vehicle 1, the operator of Vehicle 2 may not notice that Vehicle 1 has stopped or is proceeding slowly until it is too late to prevent Vehicle 2 from colliding with the rear of Vehicle 1.
There are numerous other situations in which it would be desirable and helpful to turn on the tail of a first vehicle (Vehicle 1) to warn the operator - driver of a second vehicle (Vehicle 2), which is behind the first vehicle and proceeding in substantially the same direction, of an increased danger of a collision.